49ers welcome four back to practice

Posted by Josh Alper on October 16, 2013, 6:56 AM EDT

AP

Tuesday was the first day that 49ers players placed on the physically unabale to perform and non-football injury lists at the end of preseason were eligible to practice with the team and four of them were able to get on the field.

Wide receiver Mario Manningham, cornerback Eric Wright, defensive tackle Quinton Dial and defensive end Tank Carradine were on the field as the 49ers conducted a walkthrough and all are expected to take part in the team’s full practice on Wednesday. There’s no sense yet of when any of the players will be ready to take part in a game, but Manningham says not to expect him in the lineup right away.

The 49ers could use all the help they can find at wide receiver, so there’s a role for Manningham to play as soon as he’s healthy enough to play it. The most immediate need could be for Dial or Carradine as Glenn Dorsey’s hamstring injury could leave the 49ers very thin along the defensive line in the immediate future.

All four players are eligible to join the 53-man roster and have a three-week window to practice before the team must either add them to the active roster or shut them down for the season.